Manchester United beat 10-man Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at Old Trafford, leaving the Red Devils one win away from ending Frank Ilett’s long-running haircut challenge.
United are now just one win away from ending their challenge (Image: @TheUnitedStrand/INSTAGRAM)
Manchester United fan Frank Ilett is one win away from getting his hair cut for the first time in a year and a half. Illett, affectionately known as ‘United Strand’ on social media, promised last year that he would keep growing his hair until the Red Devils won five games in a row.
He has promised to donate his hair to the Little Princess Trust when he is finally able. And it looks like trimming may be closer than ever.
Saturday’s 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur marked their fourth successive win under manager Michael Carrick. Brian Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes scored to defeat the North London side.
This result followed impressive wins against Manchester City, Arsenal and Fulham. Relegation-threatened West Ham United stand in the way of United’s chances of winning their fifth straight title and allowing Illett to cut his hair.
read more: Roy Keane was introduced to manager Michael Carrick as a key player for Man United, who attracted attention with Tottenham’s victory.read more: Manchester United finally end Tottenham’s misery thanks to reckless Cristian Romero – 5 talking points
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It emerged earlier this week that a number of United’s stars were aware of Ilett’s challenge. A source told The Sun: “The players have really enjoyed their recent turnaround in fortunes and the atmosphere on the training ground is very positive.
“They know Frank very well because he’s often on social media. Some of them were laughing and joking and saying, ‘Come on, let this guy cut your hair.'”
With the end of Aylet’s challenge firmly in sight, he may need to start making plans. He has previously revealed he is looking to sign players outside of United’s historic home.
Frank Ilett hasn’t cut his hair in over 500 days (Image: @TheUnitedStrand/INSTAGRAM)
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He said: “It’s been very difficult. But I’m hoping to get my hair cut at Old Trafford, or at least somewhere nearby. Either way, there’s plenty of time to plan!”
Meanwhile, United’s top goalscorer and captain Fernandes emphasized his desire for Carrick’s side to win their fifth straight title. After the win against Spurs, he said: “When you win games, your confidence increases more and more. It’s very important for us to stay focused and not push ourselves too hard now.”
“This is very good and very impressive, but we need to keep moving forward. If we don’t win the next game and the next game, we’ll be back in the same uncomfortable place. We’ll lose confidence and have a hard time believing in everything we’ve done.”
“But we’ve done very well so far to do everything that Michael and the staff have asked of us, and we played responsibly and bravely in some moments of the game and did whatever it took to win the game. The main focus is on the next game. We’ve won four in a row. This time was great, but now we need to win five in a row.”
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